Battle of Maritsa
|combatant2= |commander1=Vukašin Mrnjavčević † Uglješa Mrnjavčević † |commander2=Lala Şâhin Paşa Gazi Evrenos |strength1= 20,000-70,000 men Julius Emil DeVos: Fifteen hundred years of Europe, O'Donnell Press, 1924, page 110.Otto Kaemmel: Spamer's Illustrierte Weltgeschichte: mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Kulturgeschichte, O. Spamer, 1902, page 740 |strength2=800 men |casualties1=heavy combat lossesRossos, Andrew, Macedonia and the Macedonians, (Hoover Institution Press Publications, 2008), 40. thousands drownedGustav Friedrich Hertzberg: Geschichte Griechenlands: Th. Vom lateinischen Kreuzzuge bis zur Vollendung der osmanischen Eroberung (1204-1740), F.A. Perthes, 1877, page 323 |casualties2=low }} The Battle of Maritsa, or Battle of Chernomen ( , , in tr. Second Battle of Maritsa) took place at the Maritsa River near the village of Chernomen (today Ormenio in Greece) on September 26, 1371 between the forces of Ottoman commanders Lala Şâhin Paşa and Gazi Evrenos and Serbian commanders King Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his brother Despot Jovan Uglješa K.Jirecek,History of the Bulgarians,p.382J.V.A Fine, The Late Mediaeval Balkans, p. 379L.S Stavrianos, The Balkan since 1453, p.44Jirecek, Konstantin, Geschichte der Serben, pp. 437-438 who also wanted to get revenge of First Battle of Maritsa. Battle The Serbian army numbered 20,000-70,000 men. Despot Uglješa wanted to make a surprise attack on the Ottomans in their capital city, Edirne, while Murad I was in Asia Minor. The Ottoman army was much smaller Byzantine Greek scholar Laonikos Chalkokondyles and other sources give the number of 800 men, but due to superior tactics, by conducting a night raid on the Serbian camp, Şâhin Paşa was able to defeat the Serbian army and kill King Vukašin and despot Uglješa. Thousands of Serbs were killed, and thousands drowned in the Maritsa river when they tried to regroup for counter-attack.Harold William Vazeille Temperley: History of Serbia, H. Fertig, 1917, page 97. Heavy armor became a disadvantage in the river water. After the battle, the Maritsa ran scarlet with blood. Aftermath Macedonia and parts of Greece fell under Ottoman power after this battle. The battle was a part of the Ottoman campaign to conquer the Balkans and was preceded by the Ottoman capturing of Sozopol and succeeded by the capture of the cities of Drama, Kavála and Serrai in modern Greece. The battle preceded the later 1389 Battle of Kosovo, and was one of many in history of the Serbian-Turkish wars. Notes References * Rossos, Andrew, Macedonia and the Macedonians, Hoover Institution Press Publications, 2008. * Sedlar, Jean W., East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500, University of Washington Press, 1994. * Stavrianos, L. S. The Balkans Since 1453, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000. * Turnbull, Stephen R. The Ottoman Empire 1326-1699, Osprey Publishing, 2003. External links * [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050991/Battle-of-the-Maritsa-River Battle of the Maritsa River Encyclopædia Britannica] Category:1371 in Europe Category:Conflicts in 1371 Category:Battles involving Serbia in the Middle Ages Category:Battles involving the Ottoman Empire Category:Battles of the Ottoman–Serbian Wars Category:Battles of the Middle Ages Category:House of Mrnjavčević Category:Serbian Empire Category:14th century in Bulgaria Category:14th century in the Ottoman Empire Category:14th century in Serbia Category:Ottoman Serbia Category:History of Edirne Province Category:1371 in the Ottoman Empire